This invention relates generally to receptacles and more particularly to a receptacle for facilitating the cleansing and storage of fabric sleeves as used on a roller for applying paint and the like.
In the painting of walls, etc., a roll type applicator known as a paint roller generally is employed. The paint roller cover sleeves require proper cleaning and care between use if they are to be re-used. For example, if one employs a paint roller with oil base paint then fails to clean the same, the roller sleeve generally must be discarded and cannot be re-used.
In this connection, a number of receptacles have been devised for cleaning and storing paint roller sleeves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,931 issued on Mar. 29, 1955 to Zelkowitz illustrates such a prior art receptacle. This is an effective device for cleaning paint roller sleeves, but requires direct handling contact with the wet paint roller by one's hand in order to remove the paint roller sleeve from the container. The receptacle further does not provide a means to permit the paint roller sleeve to be drained prior to removal from the container. This latter-indicated problem is also apparent with the receptacle illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,603 issued Oct. 16, 1956 to Zelkowitz, in that this container also provides no means of draining the solvent-soaked paint roller sleeve. However, this latter Patent does illustrate a container in which the paint roller sleeve does not have to be directly handled by hand contact when it is removed from the container. Nevertheless, this second Patent does provide some undesirable complexities in that when positioning the paint roller in the container, the sleeve cannot simply be dropped over a center post; it must be properly aligned and positioned before the container can be closed.
Another example of such prior art containers is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,582 issued Nov. 11, 1975 to Wallace. This Patent shows a receptacle which provides no means for handling or removing the solvent-soaked paint roller, as it is in reality adapted to clean implements other than paint rollers, such as paint brushes. Again, the device illustrated in this Patent has the same inherent disadvantages as previously mentioned.